Page 80 of The Hunter's Empire

By the time we finally slip through the doors and enter the corridor beyond, my nerves are stretched dangerously thin.

The change in atmosphere is immediate.

The celebration doesn't disappear completely, but it becomes distant. Muted. The orchestra is reduced to a faint echo somewhere behind us, and the bursts of laughter that filled the ballroom moments ago are now little more than muffled sounds carried through layers of stone and wood.

My eyes immediately travel upward toward one of the surveillance cameras mounted along the corridor ceiling.

The sight of it makes my stomach tighten.

"We're really trusting your camera plan?" I ask quietly.

Nico doesn't even bother looking at it. "We don't have much choice."

"That wasn't an answer."

A faint smirk touches his mouth. "I know."

I shoot him a look. "Nico."

His amusement lingers for another second before he says. "You ask a lot of questions."

"Because you're telling me you somehow manipulated the surveillance system of a mafia estate without anyone noticing."

"Fair." He adjusts his cuff as we continue walking.

I narrow my eyes. The bastard actually looks proud of himself.

His smile widens. Then, just as quickly, it disappears. The shift is subtle. But I notice it.

"Nico?"

"We have eleven minutes, remember?"

My gaze drifts down the seemingly endless corridor ahead of us. Suddenly it feels much longer than it did before.

Nico must notice the change in my expression because his voice lowers slightly.

"Stop thinking about the clock."

I let out a quiet laugh. "That's impossible."

"Then stop looking at it like it's already beaten us."

The words catch me off guard. I glance at him but his attention remains fixed ahead.

"We'll get in." He says. "We'll get the information."

"And if we don't?"

He looks at me. The corner of his mouth lifts. "Then you get to tell me your gut feeling was wrong."

Idiot.

Together we continue deeper into the quiet residential wing, leaving the celebration further and further behind as the real reason we came to Ireland waits somewhere ahead of us.

The farther we move from the ballroom, the quieter the estate becomes. The music fades into the background, replaced by an almost oppressive silence that makes every sound feel louder than it should. My pulse quickens when the familiar corridor finally comes into view.

We're here.